Max-

I took a breath and followed the creepy spider monster, grateful for the light on top of my head.

She lead me through a long tunnel to a dark circular cavern, the stream from earlier was connected to a large pool in the center. The water was clear, but it was too dark to see the bottom.

The monster turned. ~Long ago a prize token of mine was lost to the depths of this pool, you will retrieve it.~

My eyes widened. That sounded like a terrible idea, heaven knows what was down there, poisonous magical plants, caves monsters who liked to feast, was she just going to kill us separately?

"I can only hold my breath for so long." I informed her.

~your lungs will be sufficient.~ her voice sounded a bit more like a hiss now.

"Why can't you do this?"

Her eyes narrowed. ~spiders cannot swim you foolish mortal, you will swim, or you both will be my meal.~

I threw my hands up to placate her keeping my voice calm and level. "And how am I supposed to see, my light will short circuit in water."

She threw a disgusted arm back at Jean baring her fangs. ~ask your friend to provide you with light I do not care!~

My brows furrowed and I looked over down the tunnel we had come from where Jean was waiting. "Jean?" I asked in bewilderment.

The monster just waited. ~time is ticking~

Came her only response.

I swallowed and walked back over to Jean, hoping she had some idea as to why this spider thought she could provide me with waterproof light.

Jean-

When Max made his way back through the tunnel, alone even, It was hard to not throw my arms around him and hug him.

I was just so relieved he was alright.

A part of me wanted to double check he was the real Max and not an illusion.

I paused standing up. "Max," I cautioned studying him. "Where did we meet?" I checked.

Max looked surprised then answered. "1st grade wasn't it?"

I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "And what's Jesse's favorite food?" I double checked.

Max's mouth flickered toward a smile, "Pizza, with lots of bacon."

I gave a quick smile. It was him.

"Sorry, I needed to be sure."

Max nodded, stepping forward. "Hey, in a place like this that's smart."

He then went on to explain the first task he was given and I paled, the thought of swimming down a dark tunnel was almost paralyzing to me, but what was more paralyzing was when Max mentioned the monster saying I could help.

"Me? What could I do?" I asked feeling helpless. Was this a trick or something?

Max sighed and shook his head. "I don't know Jean, I just know we're running out of time."

The defeat in his voice turned my fear to determination, I was not letting Max get killed.

"Right." I breathed. "Okay, you need a waterproof light, what about those flowers on the ceiling?" I realized excited.

Max winced. "Jean those are pretty far back...plus, well the ladder to get up is broken."

He said it kindly and without blame, but I still felt a tang of guilt knowing the ladder part was my fault.

I bit my lip scanning the surroundings. There was rocks, nothing but rocks. My eyes fell on one a foot or two away, lighter in color than the others.

I felt a tugging in my heart and moved over to pick it up, the stone was smooth, I couldn't quite tell what it was made up of.

I closed my palm around it wishing it would light up.

Max was watching me, though his expression was distracted, I could see the gears in his mind turning the problem over and over.

He shook his head. "I think I'm just going to have to try to do it in the dark." He decided. "We don't have time for an actual solution, something tells me this monster lady is not the patient type."

I nodded walking forward. The knowledge that he might die...I swallowed, looking into his hazel eyes.

There was something I needed to tell him. "Max-" I began turning the stone over in my fingers when Max winced washed over in light.

My eyes widened and I backed up only to realize the white radiance was coming from the stone in my palm.

I stared at it.

"Jean-" Max fumbled. "H-how did you do that?"

I shook my head. "I don't- I didn't-" but I had, something deep inside me told me this stone was glowing because of me.

Max stepped forward again. "Is it hot?" He wondered brow furrowed.

I shook my head, the light from the smooth stone was enough to brighten up an entire 15 foot radius, allowing me to see the formations on the walls, and unfortunately, the remains in the corners, remains of our spider friends previous victims.

I placed the stone in Max's hand, the sooner he defeated the challenges, the sooner we could get out of here.

I searched his eyes once more. "You bring that back to me okay?" I ordered, trying not to let any of my worry leak out.

Max nodded, his expression saying, he knew it wasn't the stone I was worried about.

His palm closed around the light and he gave a small smile. "You can count on me." He promised. "I won't leave you in this tunnel."

I swallowed back a lump of emotion, aching for the sky and the trees. "That would be nice." I managed.

Max ran off back down the tunnel, I folded my arms around myself with nothing left to do but pray.

Max-

My heart was pounding as I ran back to the circular cavern where spider breath was waiting.

That goodbye to Jean...that had been really hard. I still couldn't believe she found the one rock in there that apparently was magic, it was the coolest thing.

When I reached the pool spider was still there, her eyes narrowed at me, her tone unimpressed. ~it appears you got what you seek.~

I nodded and came to a stop. "I'm ready."

She simply gestured a hand toward the pool.

I took a breath, held it, then dove, shooting into the pool.

I can honestly say I never would've made it with out the light, the deep tunnel under the water turned off slightly, and had I not known what direction to go, I would've hit a wall, or worse, gotten stuck under that ledge I caught sight of and drowned, unsure how to get back up. The thought made me shiver.

Swimming with a stone in my palm was tricky, but I made progress well enough and went reached the bottom.

Pale, fine sand rested at the pool base, and in the now stirring sands where bones. Not thousands, just enough for one person, and in his hand, a sword.

My eyes widened and I stuck the stone in my pocket. It dimmed, but I could still see enough to navigate. Lifting the sword I was grateful water made things lighter and began kicking to the surface.

The extra effort took a toll on my oxygen, and by the time I was almost half way up I felt the strain big time.

Gritting my teeth I continued kicking, the surface seemed so far away, then I broke it, gasping up gulps of air.

Spider lady raised an eyebrow, but I was too exhausted to care about her judgment, she couldn't fetch the dang sword herself she could give me a minute.

My limbs felt shaky as I rested on the side of the pool, letting my body go limp.

The woman approached talons drawn and I snapped. "Don't even think about it." I shot her a look and rose to my feet gripping the sword, dripping water onto the cave floor.

She lowered her claws and shook, then glared harshly. ~then do not look like such easy prey~ she warned vehemently.

I raised an eyebrow, then studied the sword. It's platinum gleamed, it's weight evenly balanced, a large sapphire incrusted on the hilt. There was also an energy, a steady strength that seemed to radiate from the sword.

The spiders expression was power-hungry. As she glanced at it the sword hummed in my hand slightly, a slight pulling from the sword made it lean away from her.

Call me crazy, but the sword didn't want her to have it.

"Alright," I breathed out. "What next?"

~give me the sword~ She seethed.

"I'm keeping it." I told her. "Until YOU keep your word getting us the flower and setting us free."

The spider woman hissed vehemently, she looked like she wanted to tear my head off, but she didn't, not while I was holding the sword.

~you'd better honor our bargain~ she warned, then turned. ~come this way~ was all she said, though her words were poisoned with hatred.

I sighed, then reached down and grabbed the stone in my pocket, it gave me comfort, so I kept going.

Happy Halloween chasers! Thank you guys so much for your patience.

To double thank you, and in celebration of the holiday I'm also posting a bonus chapter today! (How's THAT for a 2 for 1 deal eh?)

ALSO I just recently posted the first chapter of my Rise of the Guardians story, if you have time I'd love to have you hop over and share your thoughts! And Yakall I know you haven't seen the movie but I think you may still find the story enjoyable, so let me know!

Love you guys! Till next time ~ 3